Hotel Catarata Río Celeste — Hotel in Katira

Let me start by saying I arrived here after dark, and my first impression was: yikes. I drove really out of my way to see Rio Celeste (which was totally worth it) and came to this supposedly high-rated hotel, and my room was like a completely different place than what I saw in pictures. Very small with a dingy bathroom, that horrible cold blue lightbulb just hanging from the ceiling, and zero charm. I guess the photos I saw online were of their nicest suite, with an outdoor shower, modern bathroom, and lush grounds. My room was not that.

I will say that the staff, though they didn't speak much English, where very friendly and kind. I ended up requesting to change rooms since this was completely not what I was expecting. They upgraded me to a bungalow for no extra charge. This was slightly better with more room, a single-standing structure with a cute porch, but again, zero charm. What is it with hotels using exposed lightbulbs and cold light? Please change them out for warm light and add a lampshade. It's an inexpensive update that will do wonders; I know it sounds picky, but a blinding light from the ceiling is really very irritating.

The hotel is actually much nicer in daylight, where I could see the lush landscape through the large window of the bungalow. Breakfast was included and just ok. I didn't have great wifi in the bungalow, but did at reception. Probably wouldn't stay here again; felt it was overpriced and not a nice place. I couldn't believe all the...

We stayed in a bungalow and it was a very pleasant experience. You are literally surrounded by nature, seeing many animals just in the garden or from your window. There is also a swimming pool with clean (and cold) water from the river. The room was basic but overall good size and comfortable with a large bathroom. The bathtub had a jacuzzi function but didn't work in our case, I guess it's pretty old. The mattress was also old and cheap I guess, kinda too hard feelings the springs, not the best sleep. The cleaning wasn't great, basically no one came in 3 days to clean or take out rubbish, I guess it's up to everyone to manage which is fine but since it wasn't communicated we were kinda expecting something, plus it wasn't spotless in the first place. Also (like in most places in costa rica) you have ants everywhere so don't think of bringing any food! They provided breakfast which was very basic "lo tipico" every day the same, not my cup of tea. We booked horse riding with them (delivered by David - separate company) which was great and also did a night tour which while it was mostly just around the garden allowed us to see many animals we wouldn't have seen otherwise (snakes, frogs and tapir). Overall considering what kind of place it is, the location and value for money, it can be a great place to relax in the nature so I give 5 stars because I need to be fair and judge it in it's own category, this is not a 5 star resort so comparing comparable it...

Probably the best hotel gardens we came across in our 2 week stay in Costa Rica. The hotel is only a 5 minute drive from the main Rio Celeste car park. It is easy to find and there is plenty of parking. It is not a 5 star hotel however the small cabins are perfectly adequate for a short stay and have their own private verandas overlooking the gardens and each has a hammock. The gardens are a tropical paradise full of birds during the day,frogs at night and in the early morning it is most likely that you will see a troupe of Capuchin monkeys. We saw 2 different species of toucans,numerous frogs and a 3 toed sloth. There is no one who speaks English however we got by with a small amount of French and Spanish. Breakfast was continental or cooked to order.There is no facilities for an evening meal however there is a family run restaurant next to the entrance where we ate for our 2 night stay and the food was very good and reasonably priced. This hotel in my view is good value especially when you take into account its...